Former staff and students of the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) in Northern Ireland returned to their roots recently for a reunion.
The event was organised by the Greenmount Association, an organisation for present and former students and staff of the college, which has been in existence since 1932.
It has played an important role in helping to keep past students abreast of current technical developments and news about CAFRE.
CAFRE
The association recently hosted both a 40 and 60-year reunion for students of 1984 and 1964 respectively.
The former college students had an opportunity to tour the college facilities and grounds, and witness the major changes and improvements that have taken place since.
They were welcomed by James O’Boyle, head of campus redevelopment and Alan Galbraith, head of college support service.
The groups were provided an overview of the changes to the campus over the years, as well as the roadmap for the planned campus redevelopment.
Mark Huey, horticulture adviser, guided a tour of the horticulture centre, including the protected crops unit, hardy ornamental nursery stock unit and the biosecurity unit for ornamental and edible crops.
These production resources are used both for teaching and for technology development projects within CAFRE.
This was followed by a tour of the machinery and buildings centre by land-based engineering lecturer, Peter Verhoeven.
The tours concluded with Michael Graham, CAFRE farm manager, showcasing the state-of-the art dairy facilities for 180 cows with a 32 point parlour, along with a visit to the recently built calf house.
